When Harry Met Sally Changes Everything
by gesticulatingwildly
Summary: Josh and Donna watch When Harry Met Sally together, and it sets some thoughts in motion. Ludicrously fluffy. Set late Season 4, I guess? Mild spoilers for before then, but nothing huge.
Donna opened her apartment door and growled at the person on the other side of it.

"You said I had the evening off."

Josh smirked at her as he looked her up and down.

"Cute pyjama pants," he announced as he stepped into her apartment, swinging his backpack behind him. Donna looked down at them, momentarily embarrassed. The pants were covered in pictures of overly cute looking bunnies with huge eyes. They weren't really the kind of pants she wore when she was expecting company.

Closing the door behind Josh, she turned and glared at him.

"So, what's your excuse this time?"

Josh dropped his backpack and suit jacket next to the sofa and looked around. A thick blanket was draped across the sofa, a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, and a DVD menu screen lighting up the TV. He felt like he was intruding, even though there wasn't anyone else there.

"Sorry…I didn't realise you had plans. I just needed you to proofread something for me…please?"

Josh smiled at her, dimples prominently on display, knowing he was putting on the puppy dog eyes at the same time. He knew it was a cheap trick, but his mother had always told him the look would get him out of trouble.

Donna's face softened a little.

"Hmm…"

"You're really good at spotting my screw ups…" he nudged.

"I've had a lot of practice," she muttered, but they both knew he'd won by this point.

Josh grinned in response.

"Thanks. It's not long, I promise," he explained, as he retrieved the paper from his backpack. Donna snatched it from him, before settling back down on the sofa, immediately getting back under the blanket.

Josh looked around the room, assessing the situation. Donna still looked fairly unimpressed at his behaviour, and he knew deep down that he didn't really have to finish the paper tonight. He just wanted to spend some time with Donna. He couldn't put his finger on why long days at work with her were never enough for him.

"Hey, how about I make you some hot cocoa?"

Donna looked up from her reading, surprised at his question.

"That'd be nice. I was going to make some earlier but, well, it was effort."

The pair exchanged a smile, before Josh wandered into the kitchen to prepare their drinks.

Josh began sorting through Donna's kitchen just as comfortably as if it was his own, before he stopped and thought about what she said.

"Hey, Donna?" he shouted through the apartment.

"Yeah?" Donna muttered in the distance, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Why was effort too much for you tonight?"

"Huh?"

"It just doesn't seem like you is all…"

Josh poked his head back round the door to look at her as he asked in a soft, concerned voice, "you ok?"

Donna looked up from the paper, and noticed that Josh was frowning at her.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm just feeling a little crappy right now."

Josh's face softened, immediately concerned. Donna never admitted to feeling lousy.

"What's wrong?" he asked, stepping nearer to the sofa.

Donna paused for a moment, trying to decide what to say next.

"Donna?" Josh looked increasingly worried.

She sighed, "I'll be fine in a couple of days. It's just my own body kicking my ass, you know? Hormones and…stuff?"

Josh looked puzzled for a moment, before realising what she meant.

"Ohhh…oh…"

Yup, she figured. He was going to get all awkward about it now. She knew she shouldn't have said anything.

Josh turned on his heels to walk back to the kitchen, yelling behind him.

"In which case, we need to upgrade your drink to a proper hot chocolate. It's guaranteed to make you feel better!"

He couldn't see the look of surprise on Donna's face. She really wasn't expecting that reaction from him. She thought he'd blush profusely and practically fall over himself to get away.

Donna tried to concentrate on reading the rest of the paper, but the noises coming from the kitchen were too distracting. She could hear cupboards be opened and closed in quick succession, and she was starting to fear for her kitchen. Just as she considered getting up to go check, Josh came back into the living room at speed.

"You've got chocolate, right?"

She looked confused at him.

"Yeah, of course. It's in the fridge. Right at the back."

"Why right at the back?"

"So, every time I open the fridge, I don't get tempted," she explained as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Ahhkay," Josh uttered as he scurried back to the kitchen.

"You sure you don't need some help?" She yelled after him.

"Nah, I'm fine. You just sit."

Still very confused by Josh's attitude, Donna dutifully returned to finishing up the paper. He was right. It was short, and she couldn't spot any problems with it. She snuggled into the sofa and blanket combo, waiting for Josh to come back.

A few moments later he came back proudly carrying two mugs full of what she assumed was hot chocolate. She couldn't see for sure, as there was a huge mound of whipped cream on top of them both.

"I had whipped cream in my fridge?!" she exclaimed as Josh placed the mugs down on the coffee table and joined her on the sofa.

"No, but you had regular cream," he smiled, passing her a mug.

"You made whipped cream?! But I didn't hear the mixer?"

Donna went to sip on the drink just as Josh answered.

"All in the wrist action!" He grinned at her, as she snorted into her drink.

Laughing, she looked up and smiled at him. He ducked his head a little in response, not quite looking at her.

"So, why are you being so nice?" she prodded.

"Huh?"

He looked up in surprise.

"You're not normally this sweet"

Josh sipped his drink before he answered, brushing an invisible piece of lint off the blanket next to him.

"I just figured if you were feeling lousy and your asshole boss was expecting you to work tonight…that your sometimes sweet, sometimes stupid friend Josh should help out a little."

Donna smiled at his bashful nature, noticing Josh's face turn a little pink.

"OK then," she returned to sipping her hot chocolate. It happened to be the nicest hot chocolate she could remember tasting for a long time.

For a moment or two, they both stayed silent, looking down at their drinks as they sipped.

"So, what did I…" Josh began. He looked up and spotted that Donna had a spot of whipped cream on her nose. He burst out laughing.

"What? What is it?"

"You've got a spot of…" Josh moved forward to brush the cream off her nose with his finger. For a moment, he considered licking it off his finger, before opting to rub it on the side of his pant leg.

Donna blushed and laughed at herself.

"As I was saying…what did I interrupt tonight?"

"My date with a warm blanket, popcorn, and When Harry Met Sally."

"Well, that sounds girly."

"Yeah, well I feel like it tonight."

Josh nodded, before placing his mug down.

"Well, I guess I should leave you to it. The last thing you want when you're feeling lousy is me bugging you…" He got up to leave, reaching for his jacket.

Donna looked up, surprised at Josh's selflessness.

"You made me the tastiest hot chocolate I've had in years! You're not bugging me."

Josh smiled at this, but didn't sit back down.

"Want to share some popcorn?" she questioned.

Josh looked at Donna, trying to school his face to not look too keen. He had a suspicious feeling his dimples were betraying him. Stupid dimples, he thought.

"And watch a chick flick with you?"

"It's not just any chick flick! It's the best."

Josh grinned.

"Yeah, ok, I guess I can suffer that for a little while. Meg Ryan, right?"

"Yup."

Josh sat back down on the sofa, perched near the edge. Donna grabbed the DVD remote to hit play.

As the opening credits begun, Donna snuggled a bit more into the sofa, burrowing under the blanket.

"Seriously, Josh. This movie is one of the best out there!"

"Mmhmm," Josh muttered unconvinced.

Donna looked towards him, noticing he looked awkwardly placed.

"Josh? You know I don't bite, right?" Josh's eyebrows rose up at the thought, as she continued.

"You're making me uncomfortable just looking at you. Take your shoes off and get under the blanket!"

"Okay, okay."

Josh toed his shoes off, before taking his necktie off and undoing a couple of buttons on his shirt. He immediately looked more relaxed, free of the constraints of work.

Moving under the blanket, he realised it was smaller than it looked, meaning he had to get fairly close to Donna to actually be under it. Not that he was complaining, but he was a little concerned she'd be bothered by this development.

As soon as he was settled, Josh realised he didn't need to worry. Donna immediately snuggled into him. It surprised him, but he certainly liked it. As her head rested on his shoulder, and she went to put an arm across his chest, he felt her stiffen.

Looking up at him for a moment, a concerned look in her face, she quietly questioned the matter,

"Sorry…I…I get a little instinctively snuggly at these hormonal times…" she looked sheepishly at Josh, but she wasn't backing off, "you don't mind, do you?"

"No way!" Josh said a little too enthusiastically and squeakily. He caught himself and tried to deepen his voice for a moment.

"Of course not," he finished.

"Thanks," Donna smiled as she settled back in, putting her hand across his chest. Josh put his arm around her shoulder, enjoying the sensation of her burrowing into his side.

As the film played, he had to admit it - it did seem pretty good so far. He liked how fast talking and quick-witted the characters were, and hey, Meg Ryan was always a hit with him. He couldn't resist a cute blonde.

He wasn't so sure about this guy's philosophy about men and women, though. Sure, they could be friends. I mean obviously he thought Donna was attractive. Beautiful in fact, but that didn't mean he wanted to sleep with her, right? He just wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, and maybe if they could have more of these movie nights, it'd be even better. He liked this snuggling thing. It felt nice. Really nice. Maybe this would be the perfect time to stroke her hair a little?

He moved one hand to stroke his fingers through her hair a little. Yup, it was as soft as it looked. And did she just sigh? Nah, it must have been something on the film, he figured. He could feel his head starting to get muddled with too many thoughts on the matter, so he decided to get back to concentrating on what was happening on screen.

Donna was still confused as to how the evening had played out. She really didn't expect any of it. Josh making hot chocolate for her? And cuddling up to her while watching a chick flick? It was nice. Really nice. She could definitely get used to it. Oh, and now he was stroking her hair. It somehow got better. She sighed a little, then realised she should maybe be more restrained. It was tough to be, though. Hopefully, he hadn't noticed. Trying to distract herself from how she was feeling about Josh, she focused on the movie. Excellent, she thought. He was going to like this part.

"He works in politics?!" Josh exclaimed in surprise.

Donna lifted her head from his chest to look at him and smiled.

"I thought you'd like him."

Josh turned and looked at her, briefly realising just how close their faces really were to each other. Putting any ideas of what he could do aside, he answered,

"Yeah! This guy seems cool. Loves sports, works in politics, quick-witted…"

"Similar hairlines too," Donna grinned as she added that one to Josh's list.

"Yeah!…Wait! My hair's better than this guy's!" Josh retaliated.

"That's true," Donna quietly replied, snuggling back into Josh.

They stayed quiet for a while. Donna drawing circles on Josh's chest with her finger, while Josh stroked her shoulder. Both were oblivious to what they were doing, but seemed perfectly content as they occasionally laughed at what was unfolding on screen. Wrapped up in the tale as much as they were wrapped up in each other right this second.

It was Josh that broke the silence again, but he did so more subtly this time round.

"He made a woman meow? Can you actually do that?" He whispered quietly to Donna.

Donna involuntarily shivered at the tone of Josh's voice, and the thought of him trying to make her meow. She hadn't realised just how close his mouth was to her ear, nor could she recall him using that kind of voice before.

Not daring to look at him, she replied softly, "I don't represent all womenkind, Josh."

She felt Josh move his head a little lower, even closer to her ear.

"I know, but have you ever…?"

She could feel his breath on her ear. It was distracting to say the least.

"No, Josh," Donna replied, trying to mask the huskiness in her voice.

"Ahhkay…" Josh wasn't really sure where to go from here, but he was certainly intrigued. Intrigued whether it was possible and just what Donna would sound like when…He stopped himself mid thought.

They both returned to contented silence. As the film continued, the long day began to catch up on them both. Josh had a strong urge to put his feet up, so he gradually moved Donna across him so that he could lift his feet onto the sofa, while still leaving room for Donna. In the end, she was draped across him, her hand still stroking his chest, while he continued to run his hand through her hair. Their legs soon ended up just as intertwined.

Donna didn't really want to admit it, but she loved feeling Josh so close to her. She'd never realised just how warm he was. And the way he had one arm wrapped round her waist made her feel safe and protected.

Continuing to watch the film while lying across Josh, she found herself settling into simply enjoying the film, rather than overanalysing why Josh was being so attentive. It was the most relaxed she'd felt in a long time, and she could feel Josh relaxing as much as her.

"I don't get it. Why don't they realise they're obviously meant to be together? After all, they spend all their free time with each other."

Josh broke the silence with his observation, turning a little to look at Donna.

"I don't know. Maybe it's hard to see what's right under your nose?" Donna mused.

"Yeah, I guess, but it's so obvious. There's no way anyone could miss those kind of signs. I know I wouldn't!"

Donna laughed.

"Really, Josh? You didn't know Amy liked you until she threw herself at you."

Josh scowled as he looked down at Donna. They'd paused the film by now.

"I guess, but that was different. It's not like she was someone I spent all my time with."

Donna lifted herself up a little above Josh, so she could see his expression.

"True…what about Joey Lucas, though?"

"Hey, we never dated!"

"Because you didn't gather your rosebuds! Why didn't you ever ask her out after the polling during the State of the Union?"

"Because…" Josh suddenly remembered the conversation he'd had with Joey that night. The thing she'd said about Donna. He still wasn't sure what to make of it, which he'd guessed was why he'd tried to not think about it since.

Josh took in the surroundings. Where he was, who he was with, how perfectly content he felt right this second. He honestly couldn't think of anywhere he'd rather be, or anyone he'd rather be with. It wasn't like they were doing anything wonderfully spectacular. Yet, it was perfect. Like a lightning bolt had hit him, he realised why it was so perfect. Because Donna was there. Wonderful, funny, smart, beautiful Donna. Donna who promptly interrupted his thoughts.

"Josh? You kinda spaced out there. Too busy daydreaming of Joey Lucas?"

"Huh?" Josh blinked in confusion. "No, not that."

"So? Why didn't you ask her out?" Donna prodded.

"It just didn't seem right. She wasn't for me any more," Josh practically mumbled to Donna.

"Ohh, Joshua. When you know what you want, you really need to go for it!"

Donna emphasised her point by squeezing his arm softly.

"You're right," Josh threw a curious smile Donna's way in response.

"You'll get there," she smiled back as she grabbed the remote to turn the film back on.

"Yes," Josh practically whispered in response.

Once the film was back on, Donna settled her head back down to Josh's chest, one arm wrapped round him. She seemed enthralled by the film, but Josh couldn't settle. His brain was racing, and he had a feeling he knew what he needed to do next.

Almost as if the film knew what was going through his mind, he saw Harry coming to the same realisation as him, before running through the streets to see Sally. That was when Josh knew for certain what to do.

He waited. Watched as Harry declared that when you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. He knew how Harry felt. After that point, the end of the film seemed to pass in an instant for Josh.

It was feeling Donna lift herself up to look at him that brought Josh out of his trance.

"See? It wasn't so bad, was it?" Donna asked, wondering why Josh had been so quiet for a while now. Surely he hadn't got that bored? He seemed to quite like it earlier.

"I love you."

Wait, what did he just say? That was all that went through Donna's mind at that moment. She'd been expecting him to whine about the film, maybe grudgingly say he quite liked it. Mostly anything else other than what he'd actually just said. Wait, did he just say…?

"Huh?" Donna asked.

Josh looked up at Donna, gazing into her blue eyes. He should have been nervous, but everything was making perfect sense to him right now.

"I love you," he smiled softly at her, before continuing.

"It's not because I'm lonely and it's not because…ok, I can't remember the rest of what the guy said but…"

Donna laughed a little at this.

"You can't remember what you just saw happen a few minutes ago?"

Josh shook his head and smiled.

"Well, that's just silly! How did you not pay attention?"

"I was too busy looking at you."

"Oh."

Josh reached to stroke Donna's cheek. She instinctively leant into his hand.

"I don't know why I never stopped to think about it before, but I do, you know."

He kept staring at her, a small smile on his face. Donna turned her head shyly a little, before kissing his palm gently. She turned back to look into his soulful brown eyes.

"I do, too."

"You love yourself? Well, that's good. You should have high self esteem, Donna. You're pretty great."

Josh smirked at her, almost expecting her to grumble at his misdirection. Instead, she reacted sincerely to him.

"No, Josh. I love you," she whispered to him.

Josh grinned with delight.

"Good," he said as he leaned in to kiss her.

Josh had to admit it. When Harry Met Sally was a much better movie than he expected.


End file.
